March 19, 2024
WEREWOLVES IN FICTION: John Steinbeck Wrote a Werewolf Novel Called Murder at Full Moon

WEREWOLVES IN FICTION: John Steinbeck Wrote a Werewolf Novel Called Murder at Full Moon

Did you ever read Of Mice and Men?  If you did you might  be familiar with the famous  author John Steinbeck. This is not a review  Of Mice and Men  but  something that  I  came upon while  researching  something else.

Did you know the famous John Steinbeck actually  wrote a  werewolf  novel?  Yes  I know  interesting , right?

The unpublished  story is called Murder at Full Moon. About a detective who is investigating  a string of  murders  that  strangely turn out  to be a werewolf.  It was said to be a  complicated, interesting hybrid novel that lied  somewhere between a murder mystery, a detective novel and a werewolf story.  Woah ! The  novel  is  considered a lost work since  Steinbeck never published it at the time. It was written by Steinbeck using  his  pseudonym Peter Pym. So even if it was published we would not have known he wrote it anyway.  The novel when found was a full  manuscript; a whole  novel. It wasn’t just pieces or sections . It was a full  233 pages. Wow!

It was said the reason why it wasn’t published at the time  was because his publishers thought  it was juvenile . I mean  John Steinbeck  was most  popular  at the time  for writing  tales about life  during the Great Depression.  I can  understand why  his publishers  did not want to publish it. 

But that is what pseudonyms are for , correct? There are many writers today who publish within different genre and use a pseudonym. Why couldn’t he? 

Here is the crazy  part  the literary agency that is  in charge of his estate  today  still won’t publish it. They  said  if he  wanted  to publish it back then . He should have . But he didn’t so they  will not publish it.  Fans of Steinbeck  are trying  to urge the ones in charge  of his estate to do so because  it would shed light on how far in range  his  writing abilities  went. Thus  showing he may  have even been inspired by  Allen Edgar Poe .

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What is your  thoughts about Steinbeck  writing  a  werewolf novel and the literary agencies of his estate not publishing it?

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